TRANSPLANT’s Rekha Sharma is Embracing the Acting Goal of Playing ‘Every Human in the World.’

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede   Was art imitating life, or was life imitating art, when Rekha Sharma joined the cast of CTV’s TRANSPLANT this season? Maybe it was a little bit of both, as Sharma’s character, Dr. Neeta Devi, arrived as the new boss in the emergency department at York Memorial Hospital. As Season 3 began, Dr. Devi had to step into the shoes of the departed Dr. Jed Bishop, who had been played by John Hannah in the first two seasons of the show. The Lede caught up with Sharma – a veteran Canadian actress whose extensive resume includes SHOWTIME’s YELLOWJACKETS, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (both available on Crave), BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and much more – to talk about everything from family dynamics, to the special chemistry that every TV show seeks, to replacing a legend. Season 3 of the award-winning TRANSPLANT continues with another new episode, Friday, Nov. 18, at 9 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. Q: So which comes more naturally to you, being a doctor or being a boss?  SHARMA: “I know nothing about medicine! But you know, everybody has at least bossed their brother around. So I think I’m good at that. My brother is older, too, but it still seems to work.” Q: Was replacing John Hannah in TRANSPLANT – numerically and narratively – intimidating? SHARMA: “Absolutely. I mean, what an incredible actor he is, and an absolutely beloved human being on the set. So yeah, it was nerve-racking. But the producers were on my side. The writing was on my side. And as it turns out, so were the other actors (TRANSPLANT also stars Hamza Haq, Laurence Leboeuf, Ayisha Issa, Jim Watson, Torri Higginson, Sugith Varughese, Sirena Gulamgaus, Kenny Wong, and Gord Rand). I felt very supported by both the story and this incredible group of people that I get to work with every day.” Q: TV has done a good job exploring the plight of doctors and nurses, but your character offers a window into the dilemmas of being a medical boss, which is much more rare. SHARMA: “Exactly. The writers have given us this gift of having deeply researched the medical world, and we have these incredible consultants. So this is what someone like Dr. Devi would actually be dealing with. Our Canadian healthcare system is so messed up, it’s so problematic in so many ways – and honestly, just the Western medical profession in general has so much room for improvement, which is what my character is trying to do. The system was already overwhelmed, even before the pandemic, and I have so much respect for what these people do, how hard they work, and how challenging it is. They are real-life heroes, and I’m very grateful and humbled to try and portray that. But remember, the show is also still really fun to watch!” Q: You were kind of known as a sci-fi person for a while, but then with YELLOWJACKETS and TRANSPLANT, you really have been changing it up. Has that been on purpose? SHARMA: “I just feel so lucky. I mean, this is the actor’s dream. You know, we don’t want to be just one human. We want to play every human in the world! Or at least, that’s how I am. I didn’t want to be limited to one experience for this lifetime, so I chose a career where I could do a bunch.” Q: Speaking of YELLOWJACKETS, in which you played a fake reporter, it must have been such a unique experience to be on a series where the buzz kept growing exponentially through Season 1. SHARMA: “From the moment I read the first script, I said to myself, ‘I want to be part of this project,’ but you just don’t know how it’s going to turn out. I didn’t know who was going to be attached. They didn’t know the calibre of people they would get (the vast YELLOWJACKETS cast includes Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis). And sometimes you read an amazing script, and it just kind of falls flat. But everything comes together every once in a while, like it did with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, which is an incredible show that people still talk about. Sometimes you get the right mix of people coming together, with an excellent work ethic that makes it really shine. And I will tell you, that is what I’m seeing on TRANSPLANT. It’s just an incredible environment. Everybody is really putting their best foot forward. It’s a joyful place to work, and the quality and the taste that people have, it’s wonderful. I’m really proud.”   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv